Lindenhurst man's mission: To help in Haiti

There is no car in Charlie Moran's Lindenhurst garage. There is no lawn mower or other household equipment. Instead, the room is filled nearly to capacity with 56 suitcases of varying colors, shapes and sizes, stuffed with everything from medical supplies and carpentry tools to food and games. Lollipops alone fill two cases, deflated soccer balls another.

To some, the collection may appear to be nothing more than clutter. But for people living at the epicenter of last year's earthquake in Haiti, the contents of Moran's garage may soon mean a better life.

Moran, 58, is leaving Thursday with those 56 suitcases on a 10-day mission to Carrefour, Haiti, aiming to feed and provide medical care to the poor and put new roofs on 160 houses devastated in the quake. Moran, who owns Evergreen Florist in Lindenhurst, coordinated the trip through Friar Suppliers, a nonprofit serving the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal.

Moran and his wife, Joan, 58, have been running the organization for 14 years and going on faith-based missions to help Haiti's poor since 2003.

"I don't have any hobbies. I don't play sports or anything like that," he said. "My hobby is feeding people in Haiti and helping the poor."

After the Jan. 12, 2010, earthquake, the group stepped up its work. In a weeklong trip in June, its members rebuilt the collapsed roof of a church, provided 312 families with food and ran a medical clinic that treated more than 200 people, Moran said.

Thursday's is to be their largest trip yet, with 28 people, including doctors, nurses and carpenters. They sent out "begging" letters to hundreds of donors, he said, and have received more than $61,000, along with $50,000 in donated medical supplies.

Each of the 160 roofs will require 20 pieces of sheet metal, 24 2-by-4s and about a pound of nails, he said, at a cost of $180, roughly $30,000 total. Most of the work will be done by local residents, he said, who will earn $120 a week and be fed three meals a day. Moran said his group places an emphasis on teaching Haitians how to do the work themselves.

The efforts will be coordinated with Brother Destin Leandre of St. Therese Catholic Church in Carrefour. Leandre said about 300 to 400 people regularly attend the church, which also runs a school for about 600 children.

"They help us a lot," Leandre said of Moran's group. "There are sick people here. There are people who are poor, people who need the help." He said he wants Haitians to be given a chance to provide for themselves. "It's not only about buying stuff, it's also about helping people go to work. . . . It's about helping people plant trees and helping them to have an opportunity to live." With Yamiche Alcindor